Clinical trials have been conducted to investigate aspects of the nutritional value of erythorbic acid. One such trial investigated the effects of erythorbic acid on vitamin C metabolism in young women; no effect on vitamin C uptake or clearance from the body was found.[4] A later study found that erythorbic acid is a potent enhancer of nonheme-iron absorption.[5]

Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the use of sulfites as a preservative in foods intended to be eaten fresh (such as salad bar ingredients), the use of erythorbic acid as a food preservative has increased.

It is also used as a preservative in cured meats and frozen vegetables.[6]

It was first synthesized in 1933 by the German chemists Kurt Maurer and Bruno Schiedt.[7][8]